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Reeves Nelson v. Time Inc. a no go, says judge

A lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson against Time Inc., the parent company of Sports Illustrated, and senior writer George Dohrmann has been dismised by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Murphy, the magazine says.

Murphy ruled Tuesday that Nelson could not proceed with his defamation lawsuit against Sports Illustrated and Dohrmann in publishing of the story “Not the UCLA Way” (March 5, 2012 issue of SI, linked here). The story chronicled the decline of the UCLA program in recent years, including conduct by Nelson that preceded his dismissal from the team late last year by coach Ben Howland.

The court’s lengthy ruling, according to SI, “cited to evidence of Dohrmann’s reliance on numerous sources and other extensive work in researching and writing the article.”

Nelson sought $10 million in compensatory damages, plus $10 million in punitive damages for how he was portrayed.

SI released a statement: “We have stood behind the reporting of our Pulitzer Prize winning writer since day one. We are pleased that after reviewing the case, the court agreed it should be dismissed.”

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